


Ashes Eventually Scatter

by Annide



Series: 1998, or the year everything changed [17]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Character Death, Coming of Age, Grief/Mourning, Hope, M/M, Post-Battle of Hogwarts, Revenge, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-08
Updated: 2020-04-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:27:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23539084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annide/pseuds/Annide
Summary: Gregory Goyle and Theodore Nott's stories: After the Battle of Hogwarts, Gregory and Theodore have to deal with the loss along with a new threat.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Theodore Nott, Gregory Goyle & Draco Malfoy
Series: 1998, or the year everything changed [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/209426
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	Ashes Eventually Scatter

**Author's Note:**

> Theodore Nott's story is split through parts 2, 12, 14 and 17

_They were seven years old. None of them knew what was going on. They'd had to dress up nice, so had their parents. They had to stay in a room, the whole bunch of them, with one of their mothers checking up on them every once in a while. Theodore was the only one allowed to be with the adults. Everyone looked at him with a sad face. Every time he came in the room, he looked very sad. As long as they could remember, he had always been a quiet kid, never quite into their games as the rest of them. They hung out with him anyway because their parents made them, but he didn't seem to want to be their friend. He was the only one of them who got picked up from his father all the time, they didn't know why. Vincent had asked once if he had a mother. Theodore had gotten very upset and yelled at him that of course he had one. He had started crying and walked away from them when Pansy asked why they never saw her._

_"What's happening out there, Theo? Is it making you sad?" Daphne asked._

_She had sat by him, across the room from the others. Astoria sat on the other side and wrapped her arms around him._

_"Mom says you should hug people when they're sad."_

_Theodore put one of his arms around Astoria._

_"Thank you, Astoria." Theodore said._

_He didn't talk for a moment. Some of the other kids had joined them, sitting on the floor around them, mostly curious to see if he would tell them anything. It was hard to be kept from things and Theodore was the only one free to go anywhere._

_"My mom is dead. My dad said we're here to say goodbye. But I don't understand, I told her goodbye at the hospital, when she was still here."_

_"Is that why we never saw her? Because she was sick in the hospital?" Draco asked._

_"She was at home though, until the end when it got really bad."_

_None of them could imagine losing either one of their parents. They were young, no one around them had died before. In the weeks that followed, they all tried a little harder to include Theodore in their games, often pulling on his arm and dragging him within the group. They eventually gave up on that and just let him be. He would join him by himself sometimes, usually when there were less of them around. Theodore was never much for crowds, he preferred smaller groups of people. He couldn't quite handle the chaos reigning when they were all together._

_From that moment on, it was only Theodore and his father. All of the others had both of their parents and they didn’t understand how that changed things. He couldn’t always do things, because his father wasn’t always available. He got closer to his father than any of them ever got to either of their parents, because he was all the family he had._

Gregory couldn’t stop seeing it. Whenever he closed his eyes, it wasn’t dark, it was blazing fiendfyre and his best friend was trapped in the middle of it. He wished there had been something he could’ve done, but he knew there wasn’t. He’d thought about it constantly since the Battle. If they had gone back for him, they would’ve died too. They were lucky the Room of Requirement contained the fire at all. They had to bury a coffin with some of Vincent’s personal effects, because they didn’t have a body. He was upset and, when Draco showed up at the funeral, he could barely contain his anger.

“What do you think you’re doing here, Malfoy?”

“Crabbe was my friend, I came to say goodbye.”

“You should’ve thought of that before asking us to come with you. We could’ve gone home. But no, you wanted to go after Potter, like always, so obsessed with him. And now Vince is dead. I lost my best friend, all because of you. I don’t want you here.”

“You don’t get to decide that.”

“Well, if you care at all about anyone but yourself, you’ll respect my wishes and leave. Let me grieve _my_ friend without having to be reminded who got him killed in the first place.”

Draco opened his mouth as if to argue, but closed it and looked down, sadness slowly growing on his face. He glanced inside for a while, possibly searching for his boyfriend, then turned around and left without a word. Gregory went back inside to join his friends.

“Your obnoxious boyfriend was just here, Nott.”

It looked as though he just pulled Theodore from deep thoughts. He had that sad look again, the one he wore throughout their entire childhood, the one Draco somehow managed to make disappear the past few years.

“Was? He didn’t stay?”

“I made him go, I didn’t want him here.”

“It wasn’t his fault, you know. Vincent summoned the fiendfyre, not Draco.”

“Let it go, Theo.” Daphne said. “Greg just needs someone to blame right now. And I don’t think it would do any good for you two to argue about that right now.”

“She’s right, guys, how about we just honour Crabbe and remember him today?” Blaise suggested. He was always eager to avoid any kind of outburst from Goyle, Crabbe or Malfoy, which was easier done when he only had one of them to worry about.

Pansy didn’t wait for an answer from them. She simply started recounting a memory they all shared of Crabbe. Gregory calmed and told one of his own. They spent the rest of the event like this, even shed a few tears and went home one by one.

_It was a particularly hot summer day. They had all gathered at Malfoy Manor, because they had the best pool. Mrs Malfoy had warned them they weren’t allowed in the house wet. There were snacks and beverages and everything else they might need in the pool house. Draco said they were better off outside anyway, because his father had been in a bad mood for the past month, ever since Harry Potter freed their house elf and accused him of being responsible for the Chamber of Secrets being open._

_Theodore was sitting a little bit apart from the others, as always, mostly there because his father thought it would be good for him to socialise with other kids. He probably could’ve gone to anyone’s house, but he didn’t have friends. He only ever hung out around other Slytherins at school, because they were the ones who were just there during class, at lunch and in his common room. He didn’t really talk much to anyone. Mainly sat there and listened to their ramblings._

_Gregory, Vincent and Pansy passed a quaffle around in the pool, happy to get some kind of relief from the heat. Draco was playing with them, but got out to sit by Theodore. He seemed drawn to him. He loved the attention he got from everyone else, but was very curious about the kid that didn’t seem to care at all about him._

_“Why don’t you come play with us?”_

_Theodore looked uncomfortable, like he wasn’t sure he could say anything. He was afraid of not being understood, of being made fun of for being different._

_“I prefer being on my own. Being around people gets exhausting. I’m fine over here with my book, you can go back if you want.”_

_Draco took that to mean Theodore didn’t want to keep him from having fun with the others, but that he wouldn’t mind if he stayed._

_“It’s okay if it’s just me though, right? Instead of a group?”_

_Theodore smiled. He was happy someone got it. That someone cared enough to pay attention to him and be around him, even if it meant missing out on whatever everyone else was doing. He appreciated the company. He got lonely sometimes, but he didn’t know how to reach out to people, how to interact with them and form bonds. People said he was shy, maybe he was, maybe he was just intimidated by the fact he was never alone with someone, it was always a whole bunch of them, much harder to deal with._

Theodore was the first one to leave the funeral. It was almost over, but he had lasted way longer than he thought he would. He was completely drained. Socialising was the last thing he wanted to do, but he couldn’t have missed Vincent’s funeral. Now all he wanted to do was go home and hide under his blankets, pretend it was perfectly normal for him to be all alone in the house.

Alas, he didn’t get to do that. He had just turned a corner into an empty street when he heard someone behind him call his name. He looked back only for a fist to connect with his face. He stumbled back, but was punched again before he got time to look at his attacker or grab his wand. He heard his nose crack this time and felt blood spill down his face and neck. A third punch finally made him fall to the ground. He crawled back as best he could, trying to get away from the man.

“Do you have any idea what your father did to my family? DO YOU?”

“I don’t, I really don’t. Please, I wasn’t even at the Battle, I had nothing to do with any of it. I’m sorry he hurt you, but please, leave me alone.”

“I want your father to feel a fraction of the pain he made me feel.”

Tears escaped Theodore as the man pulled him up only to throw him back against the wall. He watched him fall, struggling to get himself back up, and kicked him a few times in the stomach. He finally backed away, a satisfied grin on his face.

“You’re lucky it’s me you ran into, boy. Some of us would’ve killed you. I’d watch my back if I were you.”

The man left with a laugh. Theodore stayed down as he worked to catch his breath. He wasn’t sure what to do, but it was too late, and too dangerous to go after him now. He was scared. What if that man was telling the truth? What if there really were people out there willing to kill him to punish his father? He couldn’t stay here, he had to go where he’d be safe. He had to find Draco and tell him what happened. If only so his boyfriend would hold him in his arms while he cried.

_The familiar sight of thestrals on the first day of September was comforting. The animals were unperturbed, just pulling the carriages like always. Theodore hadn’t realised they weren’t visible to everyone until second year when Gregory had asked about what kind of complicated magic might allow the carriages to not only move on their own, but know when to go and never accidentally crash into one another. All the others had looked surprised when Theodore casually said they were pulled by skeletal horses. Gregory and Vincent had thought he was joking. Pansy and Blaise had laughed too, adding to it. Theodore had gone back to his usual silence, suddenly uncomfortable. Draco had been the only one to notice how sad and withdrawn he was and he’d gone with him to ask professor Snape about thestrals the next day._

_All of that was a long time ago. Ever since, Theodore had always liked the creatures. Most people didn’t understand them, feared them, but he thought them comforting. You could never get over watching life slip away from someone, especially if you loved them. The last image Theodore had of his mom as her illness took her from him right before his eyes would be engraved in his mind forever. But the thestrals felt like a consolation prize, like a reminder that good things are always right around the corner even when it feels like everything is falling apart. He lost his mom, but he gained the ability to see those very special animals._

_He needed that at the moment. He needed a reminder that it wouldn’t always feel like this, that it would get better. Voldemort had come back in June. It wasn’t a widely known thing, but Theodore’s father was a Death Eater, so he knew. He’d hoped his father was done with all of that, that he wouldn’t go back, that after all they’d been through he’d care more about his son than a dark lord’s agenda. It broke Theodore’s heart to see all that darkness inside the only parent he had left, to see how different the two of them were._

_They became more and more distant with each other throughout the summer. Theodore hated the fact that his father was going back to the Death Eaters and he couldn’t simply let that go. And his father resented him for it, resented him for not wanting to get involved in what could turn into another war._

_“I don’t understand why you would do this again. You said so often that the last war stole mom’s good years from you. That you could’ve spent more time with her before she started being sick if you hadn’t been a Death Eater. And now you want to go back?”_

_“She’s not here anymore, is she?”_

_“But I am, dad, I am.”_

_“He’s counting on me, son. I hope one day you understand. Loyalty is important. You’ll be lucky if your relationships at Hogwarts last as long as this. I can’t quit on him now.”_

_Theodore stormed out. His father was right, he didn’t understand. He didn’t understand how even after all these years his father couldn’t see Voldemort was just using him. How even watching his son and his friends he didn’t realise what he had with Voldemort wasn’t a friendship. Theodore wished he could get through to him, but he knew, after losing his wife, his father was probably too scared to lose even more to let himself see the truth._

They were hanging out in Gregory’s room, like they’d done so many times growing up. Blaise lied on the bed studying for the N.E.W.T.s which they were to take in a week. Gregory and Pansy sat on the floor, their backs against the mattress, and Theodore was across from them by the wall, his leg propped up and his head resting on his knees.

“Theo, you’re shaking, what’s going on?” Pansy asked.

“I... I was attacked last week.” He kept his eyes fixed on the floor, sometimes looking at their feet, but never meeting their eyes. “After I left Vincent’s funeral. By someone whose family was hurt by my father.”

“That’s awful. What did Draco say?”

“Nothing. He wasn’t home. He hasn’t written or come by in weeks. I haven’t seen him since I left Hogwarts before the Battle.”

“He’s an ass.” Gregory said.

“An ass I’m in love with, unfortunately.”

“Not a bad looking ass if you ask me.” Pansy joked.

“Quite good in bed too.” Theodore sighed. “I’m so tired of reaching out and getting nothing, I have other things to worry about, but I miss him.”

“Of course you do. But you’ll see him at N.E.W.T.s. Which you will all fail because you’d rather talk about Malfoy than study.” Blaise sounded annoyed. He’d come under the pretense that they’d prepare for their exams together and so far he was the only one doing any work.

“I’m not going.” Theodore announced. “I’m too busy searching for my father. And with people seeking revenge on him, I don’t feel safe staying in the same place too long.”

“You think it’ll happen again?” Gregory was worried.

“The man who attacked me mentioned others, said I was lucky I didn’t run into a more murderous person.”

Theodore started shaking more prominently and Blaise closed his book. It was hard to believe they’d been there for half an hour without talking about this. It was concerning to hear. Gregory was starting to think maybe this war wasn’t entirely over. Maybe they couldn’t start to move on just yet. He suddenly felt like he had a target on his back.

“Do you think they could go after other kids of Death Eaters? Like me?”

“I don’t see why not. My father isn’t the only one who hurt people. He is the most notorious of those who evaded going back to Azkaban though.”

“Alright, that’s it, we can’t let you go anywhere alone anymore. We should stick together, just to be safe.”

Gregory invited Theodore to stay there so he wouldn’t have to be alone in his own house and maybe could forget that his father was missing for a few days. So that’s what happened. Theodore stayed at the Goyles until Gregory left for his exams and he himself left for Ireland where he thought there could be a chance his father might be hiding. They had a lot of fun together. They had never been that close, mostly friends by association. At first because of their parents, then because of Draco. Now, they realised, they had more in common than they originally thought. It could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

_Gregory, Vincent and Draco were sitting in the common room, revising for their O.W.L exams. They’d been mostly silent for a while, but it was clear Draco had been thinking about something else. He was staring at his book, but he wasn’t reading._

_“Malfoy, what’s going on?”_

_“What?”_

_“You look like you have something on your mind.”_

_“Of course he does, he’s studying.”_

_“Not what I meant.”_

_“Fine, I do. I can’t stop thinking about Theodore.”_

_Draco looked down. His over confident friend was looking down like he was unsure how they’d react to that information, like he was afraid they’d think differently of him. Gregory was confused for a second until he realised. Draco had never told them he liked boys, it was clear he did, but he had never said so. And Theodore wasn’t exactly the coolest boy around. He was shy and closed off, he didn’t make a good first impression. Chances are they never would’ve ended up being friends with him if it hadn’t been for their fathers knowing each other. Theodore wasn’t skilled at making friends, all the ones he had came from just being around with no choice of his own, he would’ve been alone._

_“Really? He barely even talks, and he’s always sad.”_

_“You don’t know him like I do. He’s really smart, and wise, and funny. And handsome.”_

_“Dark, tall and broody. That’s what I heard the girls call him. You’ve got competition, Malfoy.” Vincent chimed in. “Just the other day Millicent said he was very mysterious and that was very sexy of him.”_

_“It could describe Blaise too.”_

_“Blaise is too arrogant for them, it’s off-putting. Theodore is more a soft, shy kind of mysterious.”_

_“Well, that’s how he got me. I was so curious about him. I tried to pull him into our group more, make him feel more included, get to know him better. Completely backfired. He’s still just as solitary, but now I have feelings for him.”_

_“Tell him. What do you have to lose?”_

_“He let me in, Goyle. He let me become his friend and know him better than anyone else. What if he doesn’t feel the same and it ruins everything? What if he doesn’t feel like he can trust me anymore?”_

_“He’ll come back around eventually. But I think it’ll be fine.” Gregory said._

_“Why are you so sure?”_

_“Remember when I was paired with him in Charms class the other day? He stared at you basically the entire time. And still crushed the assignment. I was putting all my attention on the stupid task and couldn’t figure it out. Boy is frustrating as hell.”_

_Draco smiled. “Yeah, he is.”_

_Gregory wished he’d known at this moment that things were going to go bad and Draco’s relationship with Theodore was the only thing to keep his friend’s sanity. It was, surprisingly, the only thing that would help them all get through the following year. If he’d known that back then, he would’ve savoured the good times a lot more._

Gregory, Blaise and Pansy stood nervously in a corner. They were overwhelmed with emotions. First, there was the grief of losing Theodore so soon after Vincent. They hadn’t even had a chance to get past their anger and sadness from their friend’s death that they had to go through it all over again. Only a month later. That alone would be plenty. Second was the fact Theodore was attacked and murdered by someone wanting revenge for what his Death Eater father had done. Gregory was also the son of a Death Eater. His was in Azkaban, not free somewhere out there, but he had done just as many bad things. He could be the next target and they were all worried.

Third, just to add to all of that, there was the awkwardness of seeing Draco again after Gregory refused to let him in Vincent’s funeral. They were all friends of Theodore and needed to be there to say goodbye to him, but he was Draco’s boyfriend and they would understand if he didn’t want to see them after everything. They hadn’t exactly been friendly towards him at the N.E.W.T.s.

Mrs Malfoy was on her own when she arrived. They’d heard Draco had moved out, but they hadn’t really believed it until now. He only showed up in time for the service to start. He was with Harry Potter. They didn’t like that, they almost stopped them and asked what the hell was going on. But then they heard it.

“Draco, come on. All your friends are here, I’m sure they want to be there for you, support you.”

“They don’t care. They’re mad at me for Crabbe. I don’t need to deal with that now.”

“Look, they’re here to say goodbye to Theodore, not bring up your issues. Stay a little longer, let people share their condolences with you, it’ll make you feel better.”

“I said no! I want to go home. I didn’t want to be here in the first place, Potter.”

Harry Potter sighed and followed Draco outside. Gregory suddenly felt gratitude towards him. As much as he’d despised him, as much as he blamed him for everything that happened to them, including Vincent’s death, he couldn’t help but notice how he seemed to be helping Draco. Forcing him to at least make an appearance at his boyfriend’s funeral, getting him out of the house for presumably the first time in a week, trying to convince him to stay and be with his friends, even knowing he himself would never get along with them.

Gregory saw it then. It wasn’t everyone. Most people were moving on. Harry Potter himself had let go of all of the anger and opened his home to one of them, two even if you counted Theodore. There might be a few seeking revenge, wanting nothing more than to hurt them for what their parents did, but it was a minority. It gave him hope. He was still very worried for Draco’s and his own safety, but he could see the light at the end.

_They were in their dormitory packing to go back home. The school year was over. The O.W.L.s were over. Life as they knew it was over. Everything was about to change. Everyone knew Voldemort was back now. Their fathers were in Azkaban, probably not permanently, but who knew for how long. Blaise left them alone. He wasn’t a Death Eater child like them. His father was just one in a string of ex-husbands for his mother. He wanted to give them a chance to be alone all together for a few minutes before they all split for the summer._

_Draco was done packing, but he had to wait for Gregory and Vincent before going down. He walked to Theodore, clearly nervous. Gregory still couldn’t believe he hadn’t told him how he felt. It was really starting to get on his nerves watching those two idiots pining for each other. Except they weren’t idiots, they were actually a lot smarter than he was. But he was the one who had his shit together._

_“Theodore, are you gonna be okay?” Draco put a hand on his shoulder. They never touched and the contact seemed to make Theodore blush. “I mean, with your dad gone, you’ll be alone at home. Will you be okay? If you need anything...”_

_“Sweet of you to worry about me, Draco. But I’ll be fine.”_

_“Are you sure? My mom probably wouldn’t mind if you came to stay with us.”_

_Theodore turned and looked directly into Draco’s eyes._

_“You know, you can just say you want me to spend the summer with you.”_

_“That’s not...” Draco couldn’t hold his stare and looked down. Gregory had never seen him such a mess before. “I mean, I wouldn’t mind if you did, but that’s not what I meant, I...”_

_Theodore just stared back, without a word, as if waiting for something. Gregory and Vincent sat on their beds, watching this unfold, wondering if either of their friends would make the first move._

_“Why are you messing with me?”_

_Theodore kept staring silently, looking all innocent, like he didn’t know what he was talking about. He actually licked his lips without taking his eyes off of Draco. That was when Gregory figured it out. Theodore had finally realised they liked each other, but had no intention of being the one to do anything about it._

_“If you won’t talk anymore, I have another idea of what you could do with your mouth.”_

_Draco grabbed Theodore’s tie, pulled him closer and locked their lips together._

_“See, that’s much better than you staring at me without saying anything.”_

_“Shut up, Draco.”_

_Theodore put his arms around Draco’s waist, holding him as close as he could. Gregory and Vincent stood, grabbed their luggage and left. Their friends had finally gotten together, they didn’t need to witness more than that._

Maybe it was the fact they were never going back to school. Maybe it was the losses resulting from the end of the war. Maybe it was the fact everything felt up in the air, with no clear path ahead. Whatever it was, July didn’t bring on the same kind of joyful excitement as it usually did. Gregory missed it. He missed the freeing feeling of summer, like all worries had gone until September. Guess that was adulthood.

Vincent’s mother had moved in with them in June and it was going well so far. Sure, seeing her reminded him of his best friend and it was difficult at first. But watching her and his mom get closer and enjoy having someone around to talk to warmed his heart. Vincent would be happy his mom wasn’t alone.

Gregory got together regularly with the other Slytherins. They agreed and invited Draco too, eventually wrote him that he could bring Potter along. But he never answered. They didn’t have any news from him until Mrs Malfoy let them know at the end of July that he wasn’t doing well, didn’t want to see anyone, but was well cared for at Grimmauld Place. Daphne brought Percy Weasley with her a few times, occasionally his boyfriend Oliver Wood, the former Gryffindor Quidditch captain, as well. It was a strange time in their lives. They didn’t quite know how to act, weren’t sure who to trust, or how to bridge the gap between people from either side of the war. Blaise was reluctant to do so at all and they grew apart. But Draco and Daphne were right. They had to move on and forget about all their differences.

They were all worried. There was anxiety coursing through them whenever they were out in public. Gregory, as a Death Eater child like Theodore, was too afraid to even set foot in Diagon Alley. He almost showed up at Grimmauld Place a thousand times, just to give Potter a piece of his mind. Wasn’t it his job now to find the man responsible for this? Was he even trying? But he didn’t. It was too risky that Draco would overhear and get even more upset. Gregory had trust his friend’s judgement for years. If Draco hadn’t left Potter’s house then maybe the rest of them shouldn’t blame their former classmate for his lack of results.

It was a long and stressful summer. Gregory sometimes could enjoy it and have a lot of fun, but other times he felt too much in danger to even leave the house. He could see the worry in both his mother’s and Vincent’s mother’s eyes. But he assured them, he was fine. It would pass eventually. He would get used to this, the same way muggleborns had gotten used to that same feeling during the war. He understood it better now, how wrong they were. It had taken his friend to be murdered in revenge, but he knew the errors of his ways now. They were all people, all part of the same community.

One night in late August, Gregory couldn’t hold it in anymore. He collapsed into tears in his mother’s arms. There was too much grief, too much fear, too much guilt for him to keep inside. He was drowning in his emotions and he had to let them out.

“I... I used the Cruciatus curse on them, mom. On oth... other students. And I enjoyed it. I really did. I’m a terrible person, I deserve the same as Theodore and more. He was good. He was so good, mom. He tolerated us and what we believed, but he never took part in any of it. Never joined us to bully Potter and his friends, didn’t even stay for the Battle. And I hurt people, for fun. I should be in Azkaban too.”

“No, honey, you shouldn’t. It’s not your fault. I mean, yes, of course, your actions are your fault, but not what you believed, it was what we all did. You were the son your father and I raised you to be. It was our fault as much as yours.”

“Mom...”

“Listen, I know you’re hurting. I know losing Vincent was hard. I know you’re afraid the same thing will happen to you that happened to Theodore. And there’s nothing you can do about that. But you can still fix your friendship with Draco. You can still try to be a better man from now on if that’s what you want. You have a whole life ahead of you.”

Gregory cried some more, but a smile appeared on his face. She was right. He could turn things around, there was hope.

_Slughorn woke them up maybe half an hour before midnight. He seemed slightly panicked, something was happening. They put on robes over their pyjamas or changed into actual clothes and followed him into the Great Hall. Gregory, Vincent, Theodore and Blaise exchanged looks as they exited their dormitory. It had to be it. Potter had finally come out of hiding, he was here and Voldemort was on his way. There would be an actual battle. The coward would finally face the Dark Lord and this war could potentially come to an end._

_They sat at their table, listening to McGonagall give instructions until Voldemort’s voice sounded all around them, asking for them to give him Potter. Gregory knew that would never happen. When Pansy stood, pointing at Potter across the room, none of them were surprised to see everyone stand between them. Theodore had tried to stop her, in vain. McGonagall ordered them to leave and they followed Filch out and up the stairs. Until Draco pulled Gregory, Vincent and Theodore to a side corridor near the Room of Requirement._

_“Hi.” He said, taking Theodore’s hand. He put his hand on the back of his head and pulled him into a kiss. It lasted a while, until Gregory cleared his throat._

_“Sorry, I missed him.”_

_“Why did you come back here?” Theodore said. “I’m happy to see you, but we’re evacuating, before the battle.”_

_“You want to go after Potter ourselves.” Vincent said._

_“I’ve got a chance here to get my family back into the Dark Lord’s graces. Can you imagine the rewards he’d give us if we bring him what he wants?”_

_“Great plan!”_

_“No, why don’t we all just leave, get away from here?” Theodore said._

_“You were never really one of us, Nott.” Vincent said. “If you want to be a coward and leave, then leave. We will get Potter and keep the rewards for ourselves.”_

_“Don’t you talk to my boyfriend like that!”_

_“I will talk to him however I want. He’s weak. I can’t believe you’d associate with someone like that, but then your family is disgraced. You aren’t much better, are you?”_

_“Stop!” Gregory intervened before things degenerated too much. “Now isn’t the time to fight. Potter’s friends will be with him, we need all three of us to do this.”_

_“Fine, let’s go.” Vincent said._

_Theodore looked down at his fingers intertwined with Draco’s, then met his eyes._

_“You know I’m not going with you, right? I love you, Draco, but I don’t want to get involved in any of this. I have to go.”_

_“I know. I love you too. I’ll see you after, I promise.”_

_They kissed and Theodore joined the crowd of Ravenclaws who were now being led out through a secret passage in the Room of Requirement. Gregory, Vincent and Draco disillusioned themselves and waited to see if Potter would come back around here. Gregory was pretty proud of himself for all the progress he’d made with his magic that year. He never would’ve been able to execute something this complicated before. He knew he wasn’t the smartest of students, but he tried. Hopefully it would pay off tonight. Hopefully they would catch Potter, deliver him to Voldemort and be rewarded. Their lives could get even better after tonight. If they could only pull this off._

It was November. Six months since the Battle, five since Theodore died. Gregory was standing in front of the Nott house. He was more nervous than he’d like to admit. He hadn’t seen Draco since the funeral, hadn’t talked to him since he wouldn’t let him in at Vincent’s. He knew from their mothers that he’d been doing better, but that was it. Gregory had been surprised to get a letter from him, asking him to come here.

“Hi, thanks for coming. Harry told me he’d come with me, but you were friends with Theo too. I thought doing this with someone who knew him would be better.”

“What are we doing here exactly?”

“I think it’s time to empty this house. Sort through his things. He’s been dead for months, and there’s still no sign of his father.”

“Right.”

“I’m sorry, by the way. I asked you to come with me and Crabbe would’ve been safe if it hadn’t been for me.”

“I’m the one who’s sorry. It wasn’t your fault. Vince wanted to hurt them, to kill them. He’s the one who went too far. I should’ve realised that sooner.”

Dust covered almost everything in the house, except for what looked like a path from the door to the kitchen. A metallic smell overpowered everything else. Blood. He turned to Draco who seemed like he thought the same thing. They followed the clean trail and found an old man lying down on the linoleum. They leaned down over him, he was barely breathing. They turned him over. He was badly beat up. Bruises ruined his face. His clothes were covered in dried blood, some still seemed to be spilling out. A wand lay forgotten next to him, traces of blood all over it. It looked like he’d tried to heal himself. Gregory had no idea how he was alive. His skin clung to his bones as if he hadn’t eaten in a while.

“Mr Nott?” Draco asked.

Only then did Gregory recognise him. He hadn’t seen him in years and he was so emaciated now, it was hard to make up his features. Theodore’s father was back, after all these months. They might be able to get the closure their friend wanted so badly. It wouldn’t bring him back, it wouldn’t change the fact that man’s actions were what led to his son’s death, but it would give a meaning to the last few weeks of Theodore’s life. The ones he spent looking for the last remaining member of his family despite their difference of opinions.

“Wh... where’s Theodore? I thought he’d... thought he’d be... here.”

“Mr Nott, Theodore’s-” Gregory started, but Draco cut him off.

“Let’s get you to St Mungo’s, alright? You need help.”

Apparating to London with the injured old man was harder than they’d thought, but they made it. Healers took care of his various injuries, fed him, hydrated him, and soon he seemed a lot better. One of them took them aside and warned them that they should prepare themselves and call whoever else needed to be informed. But Mr Nott didn’t have any family left and none of his friends could come, most of them were in Azkaban or dead. He had no one anymore.

The healer told them that, with his old age, all of the stress and effort the injuries, the dehydration and the starvation had put on his body could make it difficult for him to recover. Some cuts were infected and there was still a long way to go for him to get back to a healthy weight. His heart might not take it. Mr Nott might not have very long left and they were mostly trying to keep him comfortable.

“Draco, where is my son? The house looked like he hasn’t been there in a long time.”

“Mr Nott, I’m sorry. Theodore was killed in June. He looked for you though. He spent all of May searching instead of living. Where were you?”

Gregory could hear the anger under Draco’s soft tone. He’d never been much good at school, or at anything really, but he’d always been pretty decent at empathising with people he cared about. Draco was projecting his own guilt of not being there for Theodore on Mr Nott. While the feeling was justified, it was unfair to put that on him now, as he lay on his deathbed.

“He was killed? Who would do something like that? Was it one of us, to punish him somehow because he wouldn’t get involved in the war, wouldn’t swear his loyalty to the Dark Lord?”

“The opposite actually. A man whose family you killed. He still hasn’t been found. But I’ve been trying to create a counter spell to the curse he used.”

“Oh no. It’s what his mother worried about. That someone one day would use him to hurt me. I can’t believe she was right. My son... my poor dear Theodore. What am I going to do?”

Tears filled Mr Nott’s eyes. Regret was evident on his face. Not regret for what he’d done, no, he still stood for everything Voldemort believed in, but he regretted that his son had to suffer for choices he didn’t make for himself.

“Where were you all this time? If you fled after the Battle, why come back now?” Gregory said.

“I didn’t flee. When the Battle took a turn against us, the giants left and one of them grabbed me. I’ve been stuck with them this whole time. I finally managed to escape a few days ago. I apparated at the house immediately, but I barely managed to make it inside before I passed out.”

Gregory and Draco spent the next few hours sitting at Mr Nott’s bedside talking about Theodore. They shared memories of him and told each other what they’d miss most about him. It was like they were giving him a second funeral, a private, more personal funeral. They talked about their plans for the future. When Draco mentioned his desire to become a healer, Gregory realised he had no idea what he wanted to spend the rest of his life doing.

They stayed until Mr Nott’s heart gave out. The strangest thing about it was the thought Gregory had that he now would be able to see thestrals. He might be able to understand what Theodore meant by every word he used when describing them. Maybe he’d get a job in Hogsmeade so he could watch them pull the carriages.

Gregory didn’t know where the road ahead would lead, but he was grateful to have a future to look forward to. The past year had been filled with losses, pain and an existential crisis, and he was so glad it was over. All he had was hope. Better days were on the way.


End file.
